Nottingham trio Girlband Kick off UK Instore Tour at Sound Knowledge, Marlborough

Nottingham trio Girlband! are throwing open the doors to their debut self-titled album, out 13th November, and taking the party on the road with a run of UK in-store shows. Think less standing around a record shop and more turning up at your mate’s house and accidentally staying until 3am….

The band will kick things off  at Sound Knowledge in Marlborough on 12th November before heading to London, Kingston, Oxford, Nottingham and Leeds. And because no house party is complete without a drink in hand, fans who pre-order the album will be able to join the band for a couple of pints at a pub near the venue. More info on this to follow.

Things are already heating up, with BBC 6music getting behind the band: their first single, “Neighbour’s House”, received its premiere on Chris Hawkins’ show, while “5AM” picked up love from Craig Charles’ 6music show on release day. Add previous tips from NME, Rolling Stone UK, Clash, The Line of Best Fit and Dork, and GIRLBAND! are making a pretty strong case for being the band you want to know about before everyone else does.

But ‘GIRLBAND!’ isn’t just an album about a party. It’s about everything that happens around one. The friends who pile into the kitchen, the person you definitely shouldn’t text, the break-up that turns into a group therapy session on the sofa, the nights you never want to end and the mornings when you’re wondering what the hell happened. Written in real time while touring, making friends, falling in and out of love and generally trying to figure out life, the record is a gloriously messy snapshot of being a young woman today.

Love, sex, friendship, heartbreak, money, queerness and womanhood all get a seat at the table. One minute you’re having the best night of your life; the next you’re questioning every decision you’ve ever made. That’s life, isn’t it? GIRLBAND! get it. They find the funny in the ridiculous, the joy in the chaos and the vulnerable bits that tend to come out when everyone else has gone home.

The album’s roots are quite literally in a house party. “Neighbour’s House” was written in the small terraced house where the band first came together, a place where rehearsals regularly descended into parties, the police were called more than once and seemingly everyone passed through the front door at some point. It was a house full of noise, friendship, music and the feeling that anything could happen. That spirit became the starting point for the whole record: a celebration of the people who make a place feel like home, even when everything else is a bit of a mess.

Musically, expect fuzzy guitars, huge choruses, garage-rock attitude and the gloriously scruffy spirit of ’90s alternative. Think The Breeders, Hole and The Cranberries, with a little Bruce Springsteen-sized heart and flashes of Cyndi Lauper and The Bangles thrown in for good measure. “5AM” turns queer desire into a full-throttle rock ’n’ roll love song, while “She Said” captures the hazy, grungy rush of meeting someone who makes a night unforgettable. Elsewhere, “Right On Time” is about letting go of old guilt and learning to embrace yourself, while “All My Friends” gets into the harder stuff: loneliness, struggling behind closed doors and trying to keep it together when you’re really not okay.

It’s this constant push and pull that makes ‘GIRLBAND!’ feel so real. The songs can be funny, euphoric, heartbreaking and completely chaotic, sometimes all at once. There are no neat answers or attempts to make everything sound pretty. Just three women trying to survive, work themselves out and, in amongst all of that, have a fucking good time.

Having already played more than 200 shows across the UK and Europe, GIRLBAND! know a thing or two about bringing people together. They’ve taken their sound to Glastonbury, Isle of Wight Festival, Reeperbahn and The Great Escape, and shared stages with Sex Pistols, Jake Bugg, James, Palaye Royale, Destroy Boys and Nxdia. With almost one million YouTube views behind them, European dates supporting Sting and more UK festival appearances on the horizon, they’re heading into this next chapter with plenty of momentum… and a debut album that feels like an open invitation to join them!

The upcoming in-store shows are an extension of that world. Forget the usual routine: GIRLBAND! want to bring the house party into the venues, getting fans together to celebrate the album up close and making the whole thing feel less like an appearance and more like being welcomed into the gang.

GIRLBAND! UK IN-STORE TOUR

12th Nov – Sound Knowledge, Marlborough

13th Nov – Rough Trade Denmark St, London

14th Nov – banquet Records, Kingston

15th Nov – Truck Store, Oxford

16th Nov – Rough Trade, Nottingham

19th Nov – Crash Records (In-Store), Leeds

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